Submarines and Dolphins
This email exchange between Pat Taylor and Steve Kaiser sheds some light on the origin of the submarine force insignia. |
|
This email exchange between Pat Taylor and Steve Kaiser sheds some light on the origin of the submarine force insignia. |
Pat-----Took these photos just today at a monument park here in Pensacola....the Dolphins were on a slab of marble. Have seen these over the years, and was wondering, are those supposed to be Dolphins as in Porpoises, or Mahi Mahi.....they appear to be almost a mermaid type of fish. Just curious? Including some other photos of same monument.....all those fish names got my attention. Cobia season is underway and couldn't help but notice one of the boats was by that name. Have you figured out what those numbers are beside each boat?
Best regards,
Steve
Steve...
The submarine dolphin is the mammal dolphin...not the dolphin fish (which is what Mahi mahi is...a fish...and a great eater, as you would most likely know. There are quite a few species of the mammal dolphin, the bottlenose member of the clan being the most popular depicted, because of it's common appearance. The porpoise is also a mammal, and close to the dolphin family...not necessarily one and the same, however. The blunt nose dolphin was used in the design of the USNA class crest for 1926, drawn by then midshipman second class William Crawford Eddy. His design, with a pair of blunt nose dolphins engaging a pair of anchors which flanked a zero-bow on Porpoise class (P-Boat) submarine, was later incorporated into the submarine force insignia that then Captain Ernest J. King requested be approved as the "submarine wings" for uniform wear. Our insignia is remarkably similar to the 1926 crest...and what is more remarkable, is that very few who wear the insignia are aware of its origin. (I learned of it from my dad, 1927, and a WWII submariner. As a matter of fact, he was the commissioning skipper and made the first three war patrols on the USS Haddock (SS-231) which appears on the memorial stone. In my brief research of those numbers on the stone- (Submarine Operations in WWII volume) I would hazard a guess that they may depict the number of submariners lost on each ship- It is not ships sunk...for the Tang sank 24 ships - not 22, the number opposite her name...and the Haddock sank 8, not 1 as listed on the memorial. The Tang was sunk by her own torpedo...and the skipper and a few survivors spent the rest of the war as Japanese POWs. I would guess that they may well have lost the "22" listing next to her name. Until our Polaris class SSBNs came along in 1960, which were named for great Americans: the George Washington, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, (I made 6 patrols on the John Marshall)...all subs were named for fish... Now you know a lot more than you asked for!!! Re: Cobia season.....I had command of a diesel sub in 68 - the Grampus...(a "fish"...the Grampus is the Orca - or killer whale) ...and while operating in the San Juan PR op areas during awork-up - I had the chance to meet a lady...Mrs. Gery Hammond, the very young trophy wife of Mr. Hammond of Organ fame. She had her own deep sea fishing boat down there in March when the Cobia season opened - and invited me to go out for a day's fishing trip. Aside from having champagne and lobster for lunch on board....I got a big thrill out of that day in a game chair. This lady had her picture on the face of a 12 cent Puerto Rican stamp for holding the (then) Cobia Record - her prize catch from 1965~!!!! Keep your hook deep...and good hunting! Pat
Pat-----
Thanks so much for that wonderful reply.....you are a wealth of information. Attached photos will tell you "the rest of the story". I am inclined to share this info on our ListServ....it was most informative. I wonder how many Submariners in our own class know the history of their "Submarine Wings".
Your Dolphin slayer,
Steve
|
